Inogen sees slight stock climb behind regulatory wins
Goleta-based Inogen saw its stock climb about 3% after the company achieved regulatory milestones in the European Union and the United States to support its products and shared its preliminary fourth quarter and full-year revenue results on Jan. 10.
Inogen, a maker of portable oxygen containers, received European Medical Device Regulation certification from the British Standards Institution in Dec.
With this certification, Inogen has been granted permission to sell and commercialize Inogen One G4 and the updated version of its Inogen One G5 portable oxygen concentrators in the EU, the company said in a press release.
Moreover, on Dec. 9, Inogen was granted clearance by U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new portable oxygen container, Rove 4, which the company believes will take its product line “to the next level.”
“This is an important next step in Inogen cementing its commitment to continue leading POC innovations to serve patients in need of oxygen therapy around the world. The Rove series will serve as our next generation portable oxygen container platform with product launches being planned for 2023,” Nabil Shabshab, CEO of Inogen, said in a press release.
“We are excited about these new products and the progress in the overall innovation roadmap towards next-generation offerings to serve patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and beyond.”
The Rove series is a new achievement for Inogen. The company said its Rove 6 product, a new and improved 6-setting device, has already launched in European countries where reimbursement is grandfathered.
Rove 4, a 4-setting device delivering ultimate performance and portability, is expected to launch in the U.S. by the back half of 2023 thanks to receiving that clearance from the FDA.
Inogen also released preliminary estimates for the fourth quarter of 2022, which saw slight growth for the company.
Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 is expected to be in the range of $87.5 million to $88.5 million, representing year-over-year growth of 14.5% to 15.8%.
These preliminary results are within the previously projected fourth quarter guidance range of $87 million to $92 million the company gave during its third quarter earnings on Nov. 2.
Analysts are expecting revenue to be around $89 million, so the preliminary results fall just short of that expectation. This is according to Yahoo Finance, which takes the average of five analysts estimates who cover Inogen.
For the full year, revenue is expected to be in the range of $376.7 million to $377.7 million, representing year-over-year growth of 5.2% to 5.5%.
Analysts were expecting full-year revenue to be about $378 million, which the preliminary results would again fall just short of, according to Yahoo Finance.
Inogen did not share preliminary earnings results for either the fourth quarter of 2022 or the full year.
Analysts are expecting fourth-quarter earnings to be a loss of 57 cents for the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to Yahoo Finance.
For the full year, analysts are expecting earnings per share loss of $1.37.
“Despite the prevailing macroeconomic pressures and headwinds resulting from our efforts to continue upgrading the operating disciplines in our DTC commercial team, preliminary fourth quarter 2022 results came in within the expectations we had shared during our third quarter earnings call,” Shabshab said.
“We expect productivity to improve in the near term as the tenure of our DTC team increases and we continue partnering with our B2B channel to manage economic pressures. While we continue to prioritize investments to drive medium to long-term growth, we are also diligently managing operating expenses in support of our plans for long-term profitability.”
Inogen opened on Jan. 10 at $21.17 a share. The company saw slight gains over the course of that trading day and the next.
The company’s shares opened above $22 on Jan. 11.
In the past year, Inogen shares have lost 28%, with the stock failing to climb past $30 a share since Aug.
Analysts at KeyCorp, an Ohio-based bank, dropped their fiscal year 2023 earnings estimate for Inogen back in Dec. KeyCorp analyst Matthew Mishan said in a note that he expects earnings for the full year to be a loss of $1.85 per share.
His rating on Inogen is currently a hold.
Other analysts feel similar, as JPMorgan Chase lowered their price objective back in Nov. from $32 to $22 and have kept the same neutral rating since.
But, Needham & Company is a bit more optimistic, as the firm has a buy rating on the company’s stock with a price point high of $36.
